São Paulo start Copa Sul-Americana with patchy opening record | OneFootball

São Paulo begins its 2026 Copa Sudamericana campaign this Tuesday against Boston River. The match, valid for the first round of the continental competition, will be played at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Estádio Centenário. The clash marks yet another continental campaign opener for Tricolor, which has a poor record in its debuts in the competition.

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In 14 appearances in the Sudamericana, São Paulo got off to a winning start in only four occasions, beating Grêmio (4-0 in 2003), Bahia (2-0 in 2012), Peru's Ayacucho (3-2 in 2022), and Argentina's Tigre (2-0 in 2023).

Besides those wins, Tricolor has five losses and four draws in its other tournament debuts, a record that gives it a 40.5% success rate in its opening matches in the competition.

An interesting fact is that São Paulo played at home in only one of those debuts: in 2013, when it drew 1-1 with Universidad Católica. On all other occasions, the team began its campaigns away from home, a scenario repeated this season.

São Paulo's campaigns

In its campaign history, São Paulo has had mixed results in the Sudamericana. Tricolor reached the semifinals in 2003, 2013 and 2014, won the title in 2012 against Argentina's Tigre, and played in the final in 2022.

It also reached the quarterfinals in 2007 and the round of 16 in 2011, advanced to the second round in 2018 and 2020, and was eliminated in the first round in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2017.

Outlook for the opener

São Paulo opens its Sudamericana campaign after a good result in the Brasileirão: a 4-1 thrashing of Cruzeiro last Saturday. Roger Machado will also have Alan Franco back for the match. However, he will be without Luciano, Sabino, Calleri and Lucca against the Uruguayans.

São Paulo's opening-match results in the Sudamericana:

São Paulo's next matches

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.